Medical Negligence Lawyers Launch Legal Action Against Hospital Trust

Grieving relatives of a young mum who died from sepsis following a “gross failing” in care after miscarrying are warning of the dangers of the fatal condition.

Lorette Divers, 30, died hours after she was admitted to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield. Medics did not diagnose she had developed the life-threatening condition. The mum-of-two was never assessed by a doctor or had blood samples taken.

Sheffield mum Lorette developed sepsis after miscarrying

She was admitted to hospital two days after being told she had miscarried at 12 weeks. It is believed that as a result of miscarrying, Lorette had developed an infection which led to sepsis. 

Family asks medical negligence lawyers to secure answers

Following her death Lorette’s loved ones, including her mum Maxine Nicholson and Lorette’s partner Jahred Smith, instructed expert medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to help establish answers and secure the future of her children. The legal experts have launched legal action against Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on behalf of the family. 

In the civil case, the Trust has admitted a breach of duty and several failings in Lorette’s care. 

Lorette's loves ones and lawyers issue sepsis warning

With the case ongoing, Lorette’s family have now joined their legal team in using Sepsis Awareness Month to warn of the dangers of the life-threatening condition which sees the immune system overreact to an infection and damage the body’s own tissues and organs. 

Rosie Charlton is the specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing the family.

Expert Opinion

“Maxine, Jahred and the rest of the family remain devastated by the incredibly tragic circumstances surrounding Lorette’s death.

“What’s made things even harder for them to come to terms with is the manner in which the events leading up to Lorette’s death unfolded. An inquest into Lorette’s death heard worrying evidence about the level of care she received and how she wasn’t classed as an emergency.

“Maxine and Jahred continue to have a number of concerns about what happened to Lorette. All they want is to ensure is that the issues in Lorette’s care are identified and acknowledged by the Trust, and that all lessons are learned so other families don’t have to endure what they have.

“We now call on the Trust to work with us to resolve Lorette’s case as quickly as possible. While nothing will make up for what’s happened, Lorette’s loved ones deserve some form of closure from her harrowing death.

“Through our work we continue to see too many families affected by sepsis. Lorette’s death highlights its dangers, the need for everyone to be aware of the symptoms and how early detection and treatment is key to beating it.” Rosie Charlton

Sepsis: Lorette Divers' story

Lorette, arrived at hospital at about 8.30am on 20 November, 2020. She had been complaining of stomach pain, vomiting and a high temperature since the night before.

Following an initial assessment, she was transferred to a gynaecology ward around an hour later. An inquest in 2022 was told a midwife was aware that a miscarriage could cause infection. The midwife considered Lorette could have sepsis and said she should be seen by a doctor. However, during her time in hospital Lorette was never assessed by a doctor or had blood samples taken, the hearing heard.

Lorette underwent a procedure to remove foetal material at around 3.15pm. She was found unresponsive in bed shortly afterwards and had to be resuscitated. 

Lorette was taken for emergency surgery but suffered a cardiac arrest. Lorette died just after 6pm.

Failings in Sheffield mum's care

Coroner Tanyka Rawden said there was a “gross failing” in not ensuring Lorette was reviewed by a doctor, in not taking blood samples for analysis and not further investigating the cause of her pain, vomiting and high temperature.

She added medics assumed Lorette’s temperature was a result of her testing positive for Covid-19 and her vomiting was because of the pain she was in. 

Following legal submissions by Irwin Mitchell, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, admitted it failed to ensure Lorette had an urgent medical review upon her arrival at hospital. 

The Trust also failed to suspect Lorette had a serious infection or sepsis, administer intravenous antibiotics, as well as arrange a blood test within 20 minutes of Lorette arriving at hospital.

Irwin Mitchell and the Trust continue to be in legal discussions about the case.

Lorette's family pay tribute to wonderful mum and daughter as they support sepsis awareness campaign

Maxine said: “Lorette was a truly wonderful mum and daughter whose death has left a huge void in all our lives. 

“We were all overjoyed and excited when she told us she was expecting again. It almost still doesn’t seem real that what should have been such a happy time ended so tragically. 

“I don’t think we’ll ever get over losing Lorette in the way we did. It’s hard to not feel angry that I’ve lost my beautiful daughter, Jahred his soulmate and the kids their amazing mum. 

“We’ll always make sure that Lorette’s children will know about their mum, how much she loved them and how proud she was of them, but it’s not the same as having her in their lives. 

“We still have concerns about what happened to Lorette and whether the Hospital Trust has actually learned from Lorette’s death. These concerns are compounded by the Care Quality Commission saying that services require improvement. 

“It’s too late for Lorette but by speaking out we hope we can highlight the human cost of issues with care so others don’t have to go through what we have. Before Lorette’s death we’d heard of sepsis but had no idea how devastating it is. I wouldn’t wish the pain our family continues to experience on anyone.” 

In December 2022, following its most recent inspection, the health watchdog the Care Quality Commission classed Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as requiring improvement. 

Signs of sepsis and support available

Signs of sepsis include slurred speech, confusion, extreme shivering and muscle pain, passing no urine in a day, severe breathlessness and mottled or discoloured skin. 

Sepsis Awareness Month runs throughout September. More information on the signs of sepsis can be found on the website of the charity UK Sepsis Trust.

Find out more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in supporting families affected by sepsis at our dedicated sepsis claims section. Alternatively, to speak to an expert contact us or call 0370 1500 100.